The Museum of Applied Art and Design in Vilnius opened an exhibit of mainly tapestries based on the artists’ sketches and ceramic works by Marc Chagall, Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso on April 25. The exhibit will continue until September 30, 2024. The museum is located at Arsenalo street no. 3A in Vilnius.
May 8 and 9 are celebrated as Victory Day, marking the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany which came into effect at 12:01 A.M. on May 9, 1945, Lithuanian time.
Dear children, young adults and parents,
Meaningful and fun activities await you every weekend:
Knafaim Club for those aged 13 to 17 at 6:00 P.M. on Fridays;
Ilan Club for children 7-12 at 12:00 noon on Saturdays;
Dubi Club for children aged 3 to 6 at 12:00 noon on Sundays.
All clubs meet at the LJC in Vilnius. See you there!
The Women’s Club is meeting again this Friday, this time with a male cook in the kitchen. Viljamas Žitkauskas will demonstrate his special breakfast-making techniques with an emphasis on Israeli cuisine.
Registration is required by sending an email to zanas@lzb.lt or by calling (+370) 678 81514.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Friday, May 10
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
On May 14 the St. Kotryna Church in Vilnius will host the opening concert of a Jewish music and culture festival called Shalom Culture and Music, including performances by vocalist Israel Roytman from Jerusalem, local opera soloists Giedrė Kisieliūtė and Joris Rubinovas, and vocalist Karolina Mint.
The program includes Jewish folk songs and favorites from Lithuania, Israel and the USA.
The Shalom Culture and Music Festival will take place from mid-May till October and will visit 11 Lithuanian cities and towns, with concerts including Jewish, klezmer, classical music and works by contemporary composers. Performers come from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Israel and the Ukraine.
Tickets for the opening concert are available here: https://bit.ly/3TZ7dS1
Tickets for the 19 other concerts planned are available here: https://bit.ly/3W2MgIl
The Sabbath begins at 8:39 P.M. on Friday, May 3, and concludes at 10:06 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Yom haShoah takes place at sundown this Sunday, the 27th day of Nissan on the Jewish calendar. The Day of the Shoah is observed in Israel such that all activities cease, drivers stop their cars on the highway and everyone observes 2 minutes of silence for the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
We will hold an observance at 12:00 noon on Monday, May 6, in the Jewish section of the Sudervės road cemetery in Vilnius. The address is Sudervės road no. 28, Vilnius.
The Sabbath begins at 8:26 P.M. on Friday, April 26, and concludes at 9:49 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Friday also marks the anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station accident in 1986 and is observed in many of the affected countries. On December 8, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly also proclaimed April 26 International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bnei Maskilim invite you to come and usher out Passover week together with a Mimouna celebration, led by Rabbi Nathan Alfred. Besides leading the ceremonies, Rabbi Alfred will also deliver a lecture on Jewish love in English.
The cost is 10 euros per person, children ten and under are free. For more information and to register, send an email to viljamas@lzb.lt or call (+370) 672 50699.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, April 30.
Place: Nykštukas Restaurant, Verkių street no. 27, Vilnius
The Ilan Club for children ages 7 to 12 is open again every Saturday, passing on Litvak traditions, offering a place for meeting like-minded friends and loads of fun activities. The club will now be open starting at 12:00 noon on Saturdays at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Contact Žana Skudovičienė for more information at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.
The Knafaim Club is open again for young people aged 13 to 17. Games and learning about Judaism and the world is part of the program, followed by a Sabbath celebration, and it happens every Friday at 6:00 P.M. at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Žana Skudovičienė is happy to answer any questions, write her at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club reports on recent changes to its executive board. We welcome Olga Bliumenzion as the new president of Lithuanian Makabi. A long-time member of the club, she took over the post at the last general meeting at the end of February, when founder and long-time president Semionas Finkelsteinas announced his intention to vacate. The club’s executive board unanimously voted in favor of Bliumenzion’s presidency.
The Kaunas Jewish Community invites you to a ceremony to unveil a plaque commemorating Herman Perelstein this Wednesday.
Last year we celebrated the 100th birthday of the amazingly talented teacher and professor Herman Perelstein. His Ąžuoliukas boys and young men’s choir became and is a Lithuanian cultural phenomenon.
The plaque commemorating this Lithuanian musical legend was made by Gediminas Pašvenskas and will be located on the building where Perelstein lived, which now houses the Museum of the Amsterdam School, at Vytauto prospect no. 58 in Kaunas. The unveiling ceremony will include a performance by the Varpelis boys’ choir. Everyone is welcome.
Time: 12:00 noon, Wednesday, April 24
Place: Vytauto prospect no. 58, Kaunas
The Sabbath begins at 8:13 P.M. on Friday, April 19, and concludes at 9:33 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Passover begins at sundown at 8:18 P.M. on Monday, April 22.
On May 1 the outdoor Israeli street food kiosk Cvi (Tzvi) Park will reopen for the warmer seasons serving fresh and healthy food to customers. Located at Petras Cvirka Square (now missing its statue to the Soviet-era Lithuanian writer Petras Cvirka and with no new official name) across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius, the outdoor café will offer humous, falafel, excellent coffee, wine and other foods and refreshments. They also plan this year to set up ping-pong tables and chess boards, and provide for other leisure-time sporting activities. Along with the usual program of concerts, DJs, dance, meetings, holidays, lessons and quizzes. Check it out starting May 1.
Fresh Passover matzo bread has arrived. A one-kilogram box of matzo bread costs 10 euros, the 450-gram box 5 euros and matzo flour 5 euros as well. Purchase can be made at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius between 10 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on weekdays.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites everyone to Shabbat haGadol, the Great Sabbath, the last Sabbath before Passover, an evening full of tradition which will serve as preparation for the Passover celebration.
Over the course of the evening, under the tutelage of Viljamas Žitkauskas, we will go over the main parts of the seder, learn about keara, the Passover seder plate, read the Haggadah and enjoy the Sabbath meal in pleasant company.
Registration required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt. The cost is 5 euros per person with children 3 and under free.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Friday, April 19
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
The fourth Nechama Lifshitz Song Contest is to be held from October 27 to 30 in Vilnius with vocalists between the ages of 10 and 35 competing. As in past contests, there will be two categories for competition: classical music for singers aged 10 to 20 and popular music for ages 10 to 35.
Applications may be made till July 1. For more information and to register, see here: https://www.competition.lt/registracija/
The Sabbath begins at 7:59 P.M. on Friday, April 12, and concludes at 9:17 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
You’re invited to attend an evening of discussion, demonstration and sampling of the recipes of interwar vegetarian restaurant owner and cook Fania Lewando. Lewando operated a restaurant in Vilnius with a cult following in the period between the two world wars. Artists and the city elite frequented her establishment. Chef Alessia di Donato originally from Rome will provide samples of dishes made according to the recipes Lewando left us in her cook book. Cultural anthropologist Magdalena Maślak from Poland will also tell stories about Lewando.
Registration is required by sending an email to info@lzb.lt. Everyone is invited to attend.
Time: 5:00 P.M., Thursday, April 11
Place: Bagel Shop Café, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius